One Last Time
by PianoGirl24389
Summary: Hiccup thinks about his most recent attempt to impress his father and his tribe and how it failed miserably. What's the point in trying if it blows up in your face every time? Maybe he should just give up. Or maybe, he should try just one last time.


**AN: Hi I hope that you enjoy this story. It's the first one that I've written and not hated completely so don't judge it ****_too_**** harshley. I was listening the the song 'One More Time With Feeling' by Regina Spektor, thought of Hiccup and voila! This story was born. I hope you enjoy it but if you don't then never mind. Please review it, any feedback is appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon. It belongs to Dreamworks and Cressida Cowel**

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Looking back, Hiccup could see where his most recent invention, the Sharp Shooter, had gone wrong. For one, he had forgotten to factor in the swiftness of that stupid Night Fury and that if he missed; the swords would fall back down to the ground at a great speed.

Also, combining a long sword and a bow might not have been the best idea...

But that was neither here nor there.

_'That must have been the most anyone's ever messed up- ever!' _Hiccup thought as he ran his hands through his dishevelled hair for the umpteenth time since his dad had sent him back up to the house in disgrace. The look the man gave him. Hiccup shuddered at the fresh memory.

It's not like he _meant_ to mess up- of course not! He was just trying to help, to contribute to the tribe, to feel less like the terrible burden he was. He even had a plan! He'd wait until the Night Fury blew up a structure and shoot it when it swooped away, using the light from the explosion to aim. If only that thing wasn't so damn fast! The sword missed it by several metres and continued down towards the village, giving the dragons the perfect opportunity to take the chicken coops that had previously been guarded by a number of Vikings who had ran for cover the moment that sharp deadly weapons started raining down from the heavens.

If you ask him, they shouldn't have been keeping the livestock near the catapults.

Hiccup had been standing there stupidly watching the aftermath of his experiment when his Dad, Stoic the Vast, came up behind him and berated his only son, publically humiliating him in front of his peers. Every time he closed his eyes he could see the shame and disappointment that was plastered all over his father's face.

Part of Hiccup was angry at his father. He had lectured him, basically called him an idiot, and then passed him off to Gobber! Again! It was as if he had given up on him, as if Hiccup was some lost cause that wasn't worth the effort of escorting back up to the house.

But he wasn't, Hiccup knew he wasn't. So what if his way of thinking made 'grown men uncomfortable'? He'd toned it down so much already! He was stronger too! He could now lift a whole pile of weapons without collapsing like he had on his first day at the forge. He was _improving._ If only he could show this to his dad -and everyone else for that matter- they would all be proud of him and not think of him as 'Hiccup the Useless' anymore. He even had this mental image of what it would look like when they finally accepted him: they would crowd around him, singing his praises, and tell him that he was what they needed all along. Was that too much to ask?

"Probably is." Hiccup sighed "Let's face it. Dad's never going to be proud of me, the others are never going to stop treating me like dirt and Astrid's never going to want to be in the same _room as me_ let alone be my girlfriend. I should probably just give up and go live on the other side of the Island like Mildew or something."

Yet even as Hiccup said those words he knew that he wouldn't really do it. Dragon killing was part of him, he knew it. He couldn't just give up and admit that he was just what everyone else thought- useless and in the way. But he was tired too. He was tired of his plans going awry, he was tired of everyone's opinion of him getting worse and worse, and most of all he was tired of lying to himself that he didn't mind that he couldn't talk to anyone.

One last time, he decided. He would try just one last time and then, whatever happened, he would stop being 'all of this' as everyone so kindly puts it. Didn't matter if he had some brilliant new plan, he would just abandon it and get out of everyone's way.

With this promise now on his mind, Hiccup started thinking of a new invention that may actually work. The Sharp Shooter was too precise and the Night Fury moved too quickly for him to aim properly. Maybe the problem was that in the night sky, the dragon was in his element –literally. Hiccup would have to knock the Night Fury out of the sky, bind him somehow, before he could kill him.

That's it! A bola! He could just throw a bola at it, make it fall out of the sky and then Hiccup could simply stab at the beast until it died. Or better yet, the fall might actually kill the dragon _for _him! Everything was just falling into place. He could even reuse the base of the Sharp Shooter so that it launched bolas instead!

Hiccup had a good feeling about this plan. This new invention was going to bring good thing, he knew it. It was a little crazy, but he was allowed to be a little crazy, just one last time.

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**AN: So, did you like it? No? Do you want me to crawl back into the hole I came from and never write again? Please review so I can know.**


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